Ann Savoy

A well-respected singer, instrumentalist, record producer, author, and historian, Ann Savoy is one of the key figures in the revival of Cajun music in the 1980s and '90s, though her tastes and talents hardly begin and end with the music of Louisiana. With Marc Savoy and Michael Doucet, she was one third of the Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, who championed traditional Cajun music at a time when it was largely forgotten outside Louisiana, and put her own personal spin on traditional music with her own group the Magnolia Sisters, as well as writing and compiling the award-winning book Cajun Music: A Reflection of a People. She also collaborated with Linda Ronstadt in the Zozo Sisters on 2006's Adieu False Heart, explored French gypsy jazz on 2007's If Dreams Come True, and cut a wide-ranging set of rock, pop, and folk favorites on 2024's Another Heart. She was born Ann Allen on January 10, 1952 in St. Louis, MO, and grew up in Richmond, VA. In 1975, she met Marc Savoy while attending the National Folk Festival in Washington, D.C. Ann had long had a strong love of music, and Marc, who played and built accordions in the traditional Cajun manner, introduced her to the sounds of his native Louisiana. Ann fell in love with both Marc and his music, and in 1977, they married and she moved to Eunice, LA. A talented guitarist and singer, Ann struck up a collaboration with Marc, and the couple teamed with fiddler Michael Doucet (who led the group Beausoleil) to form the Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, making their recording debut with 1981's Home Music with Spirits. The group's efforts to present an authentic version of Cajun music caught the attention of music fans and critics, and when Cajun and Creole food became a culinary sensation in the early 1980s, the band benefited from the new recognition of Louisiana culture. As a writer and photographer, Ann set out to document the history of Cajun music, publishing the book Cajun Music: A Reflection of a People in 1984; the American Folklore Society presented her their Botkin Book Award for the project. Ann also contributed an essay on Cajun music for the 2001 book American Roots Music, based on the PBS documentary series, and completed the second volume of Cajun Music in 2020. In addition to recording and touring with the Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, Ann formed a group of her own, an all-female Cajun band called the Magnolia Sisters, who issued their debut album, Prends Courage, in 1995. Ann and Marc also teamed with their sons Joel Savoy and Wilson Savoy to launch the Savoy Family Band; their first album, Savoy Family Album, was released in 2003. In 2002, Ann produced Evangeline Made: A Tribute to Cajun Music, which featured a variety of artists (including John Fogerty, Rodney Crowell, Maria McKee, and Nick Lowe) performing traditional Cajun songs. Linda Ronstadt recorded a duet with Ann on the song "O, Ma Chère 'Tite Fille (Oh, My Dear Little Girl)," and they were pleased enough with the results to cut an album together. Billed as the Zozo Sisters, their collaborative LP Adieu False Heart came out in 2006; it was nominated for a Grammy, and was Ronstadt's last album before she retired from music after contracting Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, which made it impossible for her to sing. Ann also appeared as a singer in the 2002 film Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and produced music for 2006's All The King's Men. In 2007, Ann indulged her passion for French jazz music in the tradition of Django Reinhardt by creating a new project, Ann Savoy & Her Sleepless Nights, releasing the album If Dreams Come True. The group would issue a second LP, Black Coffee, in 2010. Looking after her family and working on her writing projects would occupy Ann's time through much of the next decade, but she returned in 2024 with the album Another Heart. Along with three original songs from Ann, the LP found her interpreting the work of some of her favorite songwriters, including Bruce Springsteen, Ray Davies, Joni Mitchell, and Richard Thompson, accompanied by a group of Louisiana musicians.
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